When discussing irrigation management, there are dozens of factors that determine efficient and well managed irrigation. Factors such as uniformity, transition success, and overall water usage are generally the best indicators of successful irrigation management.
Uniformity: Overall our irrigation uniformity is really good. The unprecedented heat wave that we've seen the past few months, certainly doesn't make that easy... but given that and the age of the bermudagrass, our uniformity of turf coverage and color shows high level irrigation management.
Transition Success: As stated above- given the age of our bermudagrass, and the short window it had to establish last summer, our transition should be considered a success. There are still areas that need to fill in, and they will, with time. But our transition exceeded our expectations, despite the disadvantages we faced with a short grown in window last summer.
Overall Water Usage: I think it's important to note that golf courses can not be compared as apples to apples- there are a variety of factors that can lead to a course using more or less water than another. And it is never a goal to water "less" or "more" than another course, nor do we "hold back" on water to meet financial goals. Sure, we do our best to water within our means- but if the golf course needs more, we give it more (within reason)! So with all that said, I think these are some pretty cool statistics, that shows how impactful a quality irrigation system, mixed with successful irrigation management, can be. Year-to-date, Terravita has used just over 33% less water than the median usage of all clubs on our water source. And if you take our median YTD water usage from 2019, 2020, and 2021; we have used 25.7% less water this in 2023. Long story short we're headed in the right direction and our dedicated irrigation team, in conjunction with Project Renovate, are to thank!
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